This is the end. The end of the season, as well as the end of this fic. If enough people want me to do more, I will, but unless you people like this fic...this is it.

I had fun.

–Tsu

Title: Company 4/4

Author: Mistress Tsunami

Rating: R

Pairings: 3+4

Warnings: Heero angst! Major major! Umm...death, but not of a main character. X-mas depression. AU. OOC, but it's AU, so that's a given.

"Because, he's my friend. And I want you to be, too. That's my cell phone number. I don't know if you'll ever use it, or if you'll even want to, but just in case...keep it on you. I appreciate what you did, and I'm willing to keep Tro and Quat off your back this Christmas, but the gifts will still be in your room when you get back.

"I know you're angry, Heero, and I know you don't want anyone to help you, but please, if you ever need anything, even if it's just a cup of cocoa or someone to stay silent on the other end of the line...give me a call. Anytime of the day or night, I don't care.

"I'm always awake, anyway..."

Heero couldn't help but wonder...what were his chains...how heavy were they...and what nightmare awaited him after death.

Right then, his chains felt unbearably heavy, and yet he could not say exactly why. He had done what he had set out to do. It may not have gone the way he liked, but the result was the same: he was alone again for Christmas.

So why did he feel like such a jerk?

'You sent him your keys, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, you were still friends...' Duo's words still haunted him, ringing through his mind. 'You hurt him...'

 Duo's words still haunted him, ringing through his mind.

Heero sat in his room, watching the snow fall through his window, Ender's Game sitting in his lap where he had been reading.

The doorbell rang, and he ran downstairs to see who it was. He was careful to stay out of sight – he was home alone – but when he saw it was Trowa, he rushed to answer. "Hey Trowa, what's up?"

"I forgot my key again," Trowa answered, stepping in out of the snow.

Heero nodded in understanding. "Want some cookies?"

"...okay."

Heero left for the kitchen, Trowa following a few minutes later. "Trowa," Heero said, setting the cookies on the table and grabbing one, "I have an idea. What if we asked our parents to make another copy of our keys and then exchanged them?"

"What good would that do?" Trowa asked, mouth full of chocolate chip goodness.

"Well, that way we would always have a home to come back to if we lost our own key."

Trowa's face brightened as the reasoning of the other thirteen-year-old set in. "That's a great idea! Let's do it. And we can do it with all our other keys, too, that way we won't ever lose each other!"

Heero smiled brightly, a rare occurrence when he was not alone. "Yeah. We'll never be lost again."

Ender's Game

Something wet dripped onto his hand, and Heero lightly touched his face, startled to find that he was crying.

'What the hell am I doing?' Heero thought, rushing off the bench and racing towards his dorm room, hoping that by the time he got there, the others would not have left yet.

He wasn't sure if he would make it.

'Life is full of unknown choices, every day's a gift...'

"Heero, come on! We're going to the Light Festival!"

"Can I go momma, please?"

"Yes."

"All right! Coming Trowa!"

'...and I can feel it lift my spirit. Fills me up with laughter, fills me up with song, and I can look in the eyes of love and know that I belong. Bless us all, who gather here, with gleeful days and joyful tears...'

"...there's someone I want you to meet. I met him at band, he's our age, and he has a brother that he's bringing to our New Year's Eve party. You ARE coming, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it!"

"Great! He's wonderful, I just know you're going to love him."

"Sounds like someone already loves him."

'I hope I'm not too late...'

"Momma! Pappa! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Why don't you go downstairs and see what Santa brought you, sweetie?"

"But didn't he bring you stuff, too?"

"Of course, sweetheart. He brought us you."

"We love you, never forget that. Now go see what Santa brought you, and see if maybe there's a gift for your momma as well."

Heero opened his door slowly, hoping that the others had not left yet. His face was red from the run, tear tracks fading on his cheeks, and his breath slightly staggered. With his coat hanging off of one shoulder and his eyes downcast, he looked like a child who had done something wrong.

They were there, in his room, and packing up. They looked surprised to see him, especially Trowa and Duo, and Heero felt uncomfortably hot. He didn't know what to say.

"I..." he stammered, and then decided that the best thing to say would be the simplest. "I'm sorry."

Silence was his answer, but it wasn't long before strong arms came around him in a tight, loving, familiar embrace. Heero breathed in deep the scent of Trowa, the one friend he had truly and deeply missed.

And he cried.